Running-gear.



W. S. PROSKEY.

RUNNING GEAR.

APPLICATION FILED 0012a, 1009.

1,096,947, Patented May 19, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES:

W. S. PROSKEY.

RUNNING GEAR. APPLICATION FILED 00'1.28, 1909.

Patented May 19, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 AiZORNEYb ikffm/k WINFIELD SCOTT PROSKEY, OF RENO,NEVADA.

RUNN'ING- GEAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 19, 1914.

Application filed October 28, 1909. Serial No. 525,084.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Wmrmnn Soo'rr l ?n os-KEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Reno, in the county oflVashoe and State of Nevada, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Running-Gear, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

This invention relates to vehicle running gear, more particularly themeans employed for mounting or suspending the vehicle body on the axles,and has for its chief ob ect to provide devices for somounting the bodythat the vertical movements of the wheels due to inequalities in theroadway Wlll be compensated, or balanced, as 1t were, by movement of thebody in the opposite direction, thereby keeping the body at asubstantially constant distance above the roadway and avoiding in largemeasure shocks and jolts to the occupants of the vehicle.

A further object is to provide devices for the purpose mentioned, whichshallbe slmple and effective, and capable of belng constructed in themost substantial and durable manner. i

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features ofconstruction and combinations of elements hereinafter described, andmore particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The nature of the invention will be readfrom a more or less detaileddescription of the preferred embodiment; and referenee'is therefore madeto the annexed drawings, in which such embodiment is illustrated.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front view, showing the invention usedwith the front wheels of an automobile. Fig. 2 is a side view, partly inlongitudinal section. Fig. 3 is a plan view, with the vehicle bodyremoved. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of a part of thespring-mechanism, with the springs removed.

The front springs 1, on each side of the vehicle, are mounted on theouter ends of inwardly and upwardly extending suspension arms 2, whichat their upper ends are pivoted to the inner ends of two short axles 3at the points 3. Directly above the springs the axles are pivotallyconnected at the points 3" to the outer ends of a central transversemember or distance piece 4, the suspension arms, short axles, anddistance piece constituting what may be conveniently and ily understoodappropriately termed a flexible or jointed axle since the parts thereofare-capable of pivotal movement relativeto each other. In order alwaysto maintain the springs 1 at a fixed distance from the distance piece tthe suspension arms are provided with anti-friction rollers 5 whichbearon vertical guides or ways 6 on the said pieces.

Projecting downwardly from the center and outer ends of the distancepiece are three stops or arms, 7, 8, between which are two pairs of coilsprings 9, 10, bearing at their ends against abutments 11, 12, which inturn bear normally against the said stops. The abutments are provided,between their respective springs, with horizontally extending yokes 13,14. Extending outwardly through the yokes and slidable therethrough aretwo tensionin rods 15, each provided with a head 15 ee Fig. 4) on theinside of its respective inner yoke 14 so that as the rod is drawn outit draws the yoke in the same direction and so. compresses thecooperating springs against the opposite outer abutment, as will bereadily understood. To permit such movement of the rods each outerabutment is provided with a central aperture,15", through which therespective rods pass. the rods are threaded and carry sleeves 16,positioned between the yokes 13 and suitable spacing or adjusting nuts17. It will therefore be seen that if the rods are urged inwardly thesleeves 16, sliding through the stops 7 and bearing against theyokes 13,will carry the yokes 13 and the abutments 11 inwardly, therebycompressin the springs against the opposite inner fibutments, the

rods 15 sliding idly through the yokes 14 during the operation. Theouter ends of the rods are screwed into terminal pieces 18, which arepivoted to the horizontal portions of two spring-actuatin arms 19extending downwardly from the s ort axle members 3.

It will be observed that the lever arm between the wheel and the pivot 3is considerably longer than that between the pivots 3 and 3". Hence, asthe member 3 turns on this pivot 3 as a fulcrum, the pivot 3' (andconsequently the vehicle body) must move a lesser distance than thewheel and in the opposite direction.

The operation will now be readily understood from the foregoing. Sup se,for exin Fig. 1, strikes an elevation in the road- At their outer endsample, that the wheel at the le as viewed I the axle member isdepressed, carrying with it the arm 2 and the vehicle body through aspace dependent in extent upon the strength 4 of the springs, and theposition of the fulcrum with respect to the two ends of the lever-axlemember. The movement of the body of the vehicle with respect-to thewheel is thus the opposite, in direction, of the movement of the wheel;and it will be'readily seen by those skilled in the art that by suitableproportioning of the parts the absolute movementof the body relative tothe ground or roadway can be made very slight although col'isiderablerelatively to the wheel. On the other hand, if the wheel encounters adepression in the roadway the action is in effect reversed; the rod 15is pushed in, compressing/the springs against the inner abutment, andthe vehicle body moves upwardly with respect to the wheel while thewheel moves down. It will therefore be seen that the movement of thebody compensates or balances the movement of the wheel or wheels, as thecase may be; and since the body movement can be very slight with respectto the roadway, though there may be considerable relative movementbetween the wheel and the body, very little of the shock and jarincident to running on an uneven road, particularly at high speed, iscommunicated to the body. It will also be seenthat the arrangement is ofsuch character as to enable the variousparts to be constructed andconnectedin the strongest possible manner, so as to withstand longcontinued or rough use.

The apparatus can of course be uscd'with the rear wheels as well as thefront, and in other vehicles than automobiles; and it is to beunderstood that while the construction herein specifically described isthe preferred form the invention is capable of other embodiments withoutdeparture from its J proper spirit and scope as defined. by thefollowing claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a compensating suspension system for vehicles, the combinationwith the vehicle body and a pair of supporting wheels, of a pair of axlemembers on which said wheels are mounted, an intermediate distance piecepivotally connected at its ends to the axle members, body-supportingmembers pivoted on the axle""m.embers and movably engaging the distancepiece, and springs associated W'lth the axle members and thedistance'piece-to. resist and cushion relative motion between the two..

oted at its outer end to the axle members between the ends'of thelatter, a body-supporting arm pivotally carried by the inner end of theaxle member and movably engaging the said transverse member, and. aspring associated with the axle member and the transverse member toresist and cushion relative motion between the two.

.3. In a compensating suspension system for vehicles, the combinationwith the vehicle body and a supporting wheel, of an axle member onwhich'the wheel is mounted at the outer end, a transverse member pivotedat its outer end to the axle member between the ends of the latter,springass'ociated with the axle member and the transverse'member toresist and cushion relative motion between the two, and a body-supporting arm pivotally suspended from the inner end of the axle memberand extending outwardly to a point below the point of connection of theaxle member with the trans verse member, said arm being provided withmember, a coil spring between said stops,

and means connecting the axle member and said spring whereby verticalmovement of the wheel in either direction will compress the spring.

5. In a compensating suspension systemfor vehicles, the combination withthe vehicle body and a supporting wheel, of an axle member on the outerend of which the wheel is mounted, a body-supporting arm pivoted to theinner end of said axle memher and extending downwardly and outwardlytherefrom, a transverse member pivoted at its outer end to the axlemember between the ends of the latter, a spring carried by thetransverse member, an arm extending from the axle member into proximityto said spring, and means connecting the last-mentioned arm with thespring whereby pivotal movement of the axle member relative to thetransverse member will tension a compensating suspension system axlemember on the outer end of which the wheel is mounted ,a body-supportingarm pivoted to the inner end of the axle member and extending downwardlyand outwardly therefrom, a transverse member pivoted at its outer end tothe axle member between the ends of the latter, stops on the transversemember, a coil spring between the stops, an arm extending from the outerend of the axle member into proximity to the spring, and devicesconnecting the spring and the last-mentioned arm and constructed tocompress the spring at each pivotal movement of the axle member.

7 In a compensating suspension system for vehicles, in combination, anaxle memher, a transverse member pivoted at its outer end between theends of the axle member, an element pivoted to the inner end of the axlemember for supporting the vehicle body, stops carried by the transversemember, a 0011 spring between the stops, abutments interposed betweenthe stops and the adjacent ends of the spring, an arm extending from theaxle member into proximity to the spring, and a rod connecting the lastmentioned arm and the said abutments whereby pivotal movement of theaxle member will cause the said rod to advance one or the other of theabutments against the tension of the spring.

8. In a compensating suspension system for vehicles, the combinationwith the vehicle body and a pair of supporting wheels, of a air of axlemembers on the outer ends of w ich the said wheels are mounted, anintermediate transverse member having each end pivotally connected tothe adjacent axle member between the ends of the same, the vehicle bodybeing supported by the inner ends of said axle members, and yieldingmeans connecting the outer ends of the axle members to said transversemember, whereby movement of the axle memberson their pivotal connectionwith the transverse mem- 4 ber will be opposed by said ielding means. Intestimony whereof I at 1x my signature in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

WINFIELD SCOTT PROSKEY. \Vitnesses: M. LAWSON Dyna, S. S. DUNHAM.

